Gone
by Giliti
Summary: He was gone and there was nothing left for her. All her hopes, all her dreams, every part of her being had been about him but now he was gone. She would never see his smile, hear his laugh, or look into his eyes ever again. He was simply gone. Please R/R.


**Disclaimer: **Honestly do I have to say people. I don't own Naruto and any characters affiliated with either the manga or anime. I am not that creative.

**Author's Note: **Please read and review. I love reviews and take them into account when I begin to write another story. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy reading this as much I as enjoyed writing it.

* * *

Gone. He was gone and there was nothing left for her. All her hopes, all her dreams, every part of her being had been about him but now he was gone. She would never see his smile, hear his laugh, or look into his kind, loving eyes ever again. He was simply and irreversibly gone.

Hyuuga Hinata still could not shake that one simple fact. The man she had come to love was lost to her forever. His tragic life had been cut short exactly two years to the day. Though it had been two years since she lost him, to her it only seemed like yesterday. Her heart still grieved though she knew it would do her no good. He was gone and there was nothing she or anyone could do to bring her Naruto back to life.

As the young maiden sat staring out her window, she could not help but think the weather seemed to agree with her. The dark clouds seemed to hang over the village her beloved had sacrificed his life for. They threatened to release a storm on Konoha and its villagers. It seemed fitting that today of all days the village would weep for one of its greatest fallen heroes. Many would go about their day as if there was nothing wrong but there would be some who mourned. These people were the ones whose life her love had touched in his short existence.

She sat back and remembered the first time she had seen him. He was a sad, lonely boy who always sat on the swing just outside the academy. She of course had seen him around the village while she was out with her bodyguard but had really gotten her first look at him during their academy days, back when her father still saw her as a disgrace to the Hyuuga name. She recalled the day he had taken a beating meant for her. How he had stood up for her and tried to fight off the older students as the mercilessly beat him and then how they were driven off by her guardian. She regretted how she did not fight against her guard to make sure his now unconscious form was properly taken care. But of course this was the first of many regrets.

She had many regrets when it came to him. She regretted not having the courage to try to become his friend when they were younger. She lamented on the fact she had waited so long to confess her love for him. Had she known that a few short months after her heartfelt declaration of love she would lose him forever, she would have told him much sooner.

As she casually looked at the clock, she knew it was time for her to go. Regardless of weather or health, she had promised herself she would visit him at least once a month and even with him gone, she would stick to her nindo, and she would not go back on her word. When she stepped outside to make her long, sad journey the clouds seemed to sense her grief and open up. It was a sad rain, the kind of rain that only seemed to worsen her depression but she was thankful for it, it helped to hide her tears that would not stop flowing.

While she walked she could not help recall the night she had lost him. It sadly reminded her of the tale Sakura had told her about the night the _damned_Uchiha had betrayed the village. She had confronted him as he was leaving the village. She had screamed at him. She, the quiet, demure girl that she was had yelled at him. She had demanded to know what he was doing. When he had told her he was going to finish what he had started with Sasuke all those years ago she had broken down and wept. She begged him not to go but he had told her he had to stop his rival from destroying the village he loved so much. She continued to plead with him, but she could see he would not be swayed. She had then requested he take her with him. He looked at her sadly and thanked her but told her he would not be holding back in this battle and he knew his opponent would not either. He told her he could not worry about fighting with all of his being if he had to worry about protecting her. After he had said this and had turned to walk away, she had fallen to her knees and had whispered more to herself than anyone else that she loved him. He stopped and said he knew, he still remembered her confession and said that her words and sacrifice were forever etched on his heart but did not have any words to express how much he cherished her love. By this point he was kneeling next to her and was looking her straight in the eyes when he said he did not feel as though he deserved her love but he thanked for it. She could see the sadness in his eyes and knew this was breaking his heart so she did the only thing she could think of. She had grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and slammed her lips against his. She did not know who was more surprised him for the kiss or her because he was kissing her back and was slowly wrapping his arms around her. When they had separated the sadness in his eyes had lessened but his resolve to go alone into battle had not. As he stood and began to walk away he looked back her and promised he would take her out for ramen when he returned. He then began to walk away and the darkness consumed him. She could not say how long she sat there but it had started to rain, the same rain that was falling on her now.

Her tears were falling harder now. When Lady Tsunade had heard he had left she sent out a retrieval team to bring him back. When they left the gate she had stood there and watched them leave and stood there until they returned. When she saw them approach she had begun crying. They had brought his body back but they had failed to bring him back. He had fallen in battle, he was gone.

The only solace she had from this memory was they had returned with two bodies. Her love had taken that damn traitor to the grave with him. The retrieval team had told her he had survived long enough for them to find him. He had told them to apologize to her for him for being unable to keep his promise and take her out. She had looked at his lifeless body and kissed him one last time. Her tears were streaming down her face even harder than ever. She was thankful for the rain because she knew that had it not been there her jacket would be soaked with the torrent that was her tears.

When she came to the cemetery she noticed she was not the only one who had come to pay their respects to her beloved. Her cousin and his team had arrived along with their sensei. She could see he was too on the verge of tears but would not allow himself to cry, at least in public. His teammate, Lee, and sensei were not ashamed to express their grief more openly. The new Ino-Shika-Cho team was there as well. Their sorrow wore heavily on all three of them. Her teammates were there as well. Shino was a stoic as ever. Though most people could not read him, she knew he was grieving in his own way. However Kino was not afraid to let everyone know how he felt. She spotted his former sensei. She could see the pain in his eyes; it was almost as though he blamed himself personally for his death. Then there was his former teammate and her master.

Sakura had taken his loss almost as hard as she had. Shortly after his death she had thrown herself into her medical training and a less than a year after his death had left the village, following in the footsteps of Lady Tsunade. She could hardly blame her, in one night she had lost two of the most important people in her life. To her the village held nothing but painful memories. Then there was the Hokage herself. She had been like a mother to the man of her affection. She had blamed herself for everything that had happened, his chasing after Sasuke for years and then their final battle. Tsunade had felt as though she could have prevented it but they all knew the truth. Naruto and Sasuke's final battle had been a long time coming; they had all hoped it would have had a more bearable outcome though.

As the day wore on the rain refused to let up, almost as if it sensed their grief. Slowly they began to reminisce about their favorite knucklehead but all the while she remained quiet, not trusting her voice. After what seemed like hours they began to return to their homes. Sakura would be leaving tomorrow morning early and would not be returning until next year. Hinata was the last to leave. She fell to her knees right in front of his grave and began to sob. She had loved him, she still loved him and he was gone.

Shortly after his funeral she had come to his grave by herself. The pain of the past two days had been crushing her. She had found it difficult to even breathe. His funeral had nearly killed her. She realized she would never see him again in this life and that single thought had driven her mad with grief. She had made sure she was alone in the burial grounds. She knelt in front of his grave and began to weep. She had never missed anyone like she had him and knew the rest of her life would be like it had been these past couple of days. She did not want to go on with this pain; she did not want to go on without him. In her hands she held a simple blade, a simple dagger. She had already written her death poem and was ready to meet her love in the next life. She had stoned her resolve and was ready. As she had unsheathed the dagger and raised it to her throat, she closed her eyes. She felt the cold steel pressing against her throat and was ready to plunge it into her soft skin, ending her life and joining him. When she began to press the blade's edge into her throat she found she could not move it. Try as she might, the knife would not bite into her skin, bringing her life to its finale.

After what seemed like forever of trying to thrust her dagger into her throat she opened her eyes. What she saw took her breath away. Kneeling there in front of her was her dearest. He had held her hand firm, preventing her from making the ultimate sacrifice. She could see the sadness in his eyes and she knew it was because of what she had been trying to do. He did not want her to die, he wanted her to live. She ended up dropping the blade and nearly screaming at him for leaving her. He had sat there, soaking it all in and then had told her he was sorry but that he wanted her to live if not for herself then for him. He knew it would be hard but it was something she had to do. She did not know if she could but for him she would try. He gave a small smile and thanked her, then began to fade back into the nothingness leaving her all alone again.

She had lived for him these past two years. As painful as life was without him, she would live on for him. Kneeling in front of his grave now in the cold rain, she placed a gentle kiss on his grave marker and promised she would return as soon as she could. She then stood and began the long, lonely walk back to her home. As she neared the entrance of the cemetery she turned around one last time to say goodbye to her dear one and saw him standing there, smiling like he had when he was alive. She returned his smile and turned toward the village he had loved so much. She knew she would see him again when it was her time but until that time she would continue to live for him and never forget how important he had been to her. Though he may be gone, he was far from lost.


End file.
